Danielle's Hero Story

I have been a dreamer for most of my life. I spent most of my school days staring out the classroom window dreaming up hope and big stories for my future. I have definitely changed those dreams throughout the years. When Deep Blue Sea came out I wanted to be a shark trainer when Brandi Chastain celebrated the win of her penalty kick against China in the 1999 Women's World Cup I wanted to be a professional soccer player but there was one particular love that never went away. Since I was little, visual creativity has always been a gift for me. The Film and Television world has always called to me since Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I binged them side by side with my mom before "binge" was a thing. Those were my hero's growing up. They didn't sport capes instead they staked vampires with witty catch phrases or vanquished demons with the power of three.

As life will have it not everything goes as planned. I suffered a great loss of my grandmother along with the separation of my parents. Dark times took its toll on me and I developed severe crippling anxiety. There are many dynamic duos, peanut butter and jelly, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey mine, unfortunately, was not as yummy or funny. Anxiety and depression were my terrible twosome. I spent a great part of my life hanging out with these two. I wasted a lot of time hulled up in my bedroom doing nothing but watching TV and playing video games. With them, I lost faith in my superheroes on screen. I felt alone. Until one day I started to discover fandoms of my favorite shows.

With geek culture, I started to open up a bit more. I joined twitter, I branched out to different fandoms, I started to attend little conventions and festivals and I met some pretty great people who enjoyed the same things as me. I built up all the courage and strength I could find and decided to seek help for my mental illness. I was not going to miss out on my dream of becoming a part of these great worlds and maybe one day making it into the TV and Film industry.

With the courage I've built up I have decided to share my story. I founded AngstyNerd.com a website that helps young adults fight anxiety and depression through geek culture. I want to help others fight their mental illness and show them this amazing world of Nerd. The community of Nerdom I have encountered is compiled of the best people I have ever met. They are so encouraging, compassionate and nice. These are my real heroes. Groups of people that want to celebrate the things they love and enjoy it with other fans alike. I admire these people because they are the ones that keep me going. Without them, I never would have created Angsty Nerd and I would have never been strong enough to fight mental illness. Not all heroes wear capes. Mine enjoy the heroes on screens and inspire others to release their own hero within.

Thanks Danielle for your amazing story! Check out Angsty Nerd and follow Danielle at @danidlt8. Submit your Hero Story at Info@HeroWithinStore.com.